Registration No. 2886923 England the Triumph
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REGISTRATION NO. 2886923 ENGLAND REGISTERED OFFICE: 9 WATER TOWER CLOSE, UXBRIDGE, MIDDX UB8 1XS http://www.trocltd.com (Affiliated to the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs) THE TRIUMPH RENOWN LIMOUSINE by Tom Robinson ‘Never did like the blxxxdy things’, and with that stark comment, the one-time chief stylist of Standard Triumph, Walter Belgrove, turned on his heels after looking at a Renown limousine and went back into his retirement bungalow, leaving me standing on his doorstep. Perhaps I should rewind the tape to fill in the background to this comment. Many years ago- the late seventies, or thereabouts, a car rally entitled STIR [Standard Triumph International Rally] was held every other year in the Midlands area and on one occasion it was thought most appropriate to invite Walter Belgrove, the alleged [by some] chief designer behind our cars, and that he be brought from Barnstaple to the Rally. The most appropriate car? – A Triumph Renown limousine, of course. In those early days of the Club we were fortunate in having a limousine [TDC 2017] in our midst and this car was then owned by an active member in Cornwall, it seemed only natural that if the car was coming to STIR, then Barnstaple was not out of the way en route. Carrying a Coventry registration, LVC 313, this car when new was most likely to have been owned by Standard Triumph which made it even more of an appropriate choice. As a way of mentioning this idea to him, Walter Belgrove had made an appointment for the owner and me to call and introduce ourselves and explain our intentions. So here we were standing on his doorstep and wondering what to do next. Well, eventually we were admitted to the bungalow and were shown some remarkable examples of his creative skills. If I recollect correctly, he had started his career with the London coach-building firm of Windovers. My very poor shot of Walter Belgrove with his wooden models of a TD saloon and the TRX THE GLOBE VOL 39 No 4 OCTOBER 2013 But I digress, what I really want to deal with is the origins and production of the Triumph Renown limousine. Many articles have been written about ST’s managing director Sir John Black and his authoritarian attitude to his staff. This was by no means unusual in those far off days. His career at the helm of Standard Triumph has been extensively covered elsewhere so I will assume that members are fully conversant with this. Sir John loved the high style of life with all its trappings and found being chauffeur-driven in the Renown was his ideal. He was always conscious of other motor manufacturers snapping at his heels with their ideas on design and style; his aim was to be in the forefront. This, I think, where his idea for a Renown limousine came from. Current production was the TDB version with a 108-inch wheelbase, it was selling well and no doubt his thoughts turned to creating a division between driver and passenger and how this was to be achieved. Certainly his stylists would have pointed out that with the limitation of this wheelbase, the rear compartment would be quite small. In my opinion, the concept of the limousine was taken to the body makers Mulliner at Bordesley Green. Mulliner’s was responsible for the manufacture of the razor-edge body shell and its trimming, thereafter, the body was taken to Coventry for mounting on its chassis. Mulliner’s chief stylist, Les Moore was a remarkable man, who even in his retirement produced splendidly detailed drawings of the razor edge body and I feel sure that he was the man responsible for creating the limousine, responding to Sir John’s requirements. Photo J. M. Bath collection Chris Moore, son of Les Moore, designer of the Razoredge bodywork at Mulliners, with model. In order to provide a partition, the body shell had to be lengthened by three inches. The front doors were 1¼ inches longer and the remaining 1¾ inches was taken up in the rear door length. 67 THE GLOBE VOL 39 No 3 AUGUST 2013 Chassis No. X 497 [engine No. TDB38328E] issued from the Experimental Department was joined with the first limousine body sometime around March/April 1951. This black car was registered on 14th June as KKV 550 and I assume it was exhibited at the 1952 Motor Show. Examination of the photographs of this car show that although TDC-type door handles and mechanisms as supplied by Wilmot Breeden were fitted, this body shell retained the smaller rear window, as fitted in the TDB version. It further differed from the production limousine by having a flush-fitting petrol filler flap in the style of the Roadster. A radio was fitted in the partition, yet I have never seen one in production models. All limousines I have seen have an ashtray fixed in the normal position. The sales brochure illustrated the radio and in the specification it appeared as standard issue. I wonder if any member has seen a radio mounted in the partition. Please let me know. The sales brochure depicted a near-side elevation of the car and the artist had replaced the flush filler flap with a normal Renown one! The partition was trimmed according to trim colour up to window height and above this there was a wooden fillet and then fixed curved glasses at either end with a double sliding glass arrangement in the centre. Unfortunately, the hapless chauffeur did not benefit from the fixed front seat with a vertical back! It was offered in the standard Renown colours of black, Cotman grey, jade green and maroon, though I have no record of a maroon example. This official view of X497 clearly shows the TDB size rear window, radio in the partition and the unique petrol filler flap. The limousine was never going to be a volume seller and it must have been an extremely costly exercise to create the increased length with so little sales potential. For this reason, no doubt, this is where the TDC version came into being. It used the limousine dimensions and embodied all the detail improvements such as a scuttle fresh air vent. 68 THE GLOBE VOL 39 No 4 OCTOBER 2013 Above. Official ST photograph showing the combined radio and ashtray assembly fitted to the prototype car X497. Left. Interior of TDC 2085 MXF 6 showing the fitment of an ashtray only, similar to that on production TDC models. Photograph by John Bath. 69 THE GLOBE VOL 39 No 3 AUGUST 2013 The prototype TDC car was No. X 498 fitted with engine TDB 4181E and was registered KVC 827 in May 1951. This was quite some time before the early production TDC cars that carried January 1952 registrations. The first production limousine car, TDC 2001 was built on 31st August 1951 and electric overdrive was now an option. List price was £925 as opposed to the TDB at £825. This is what ‘Autocar’ had to say in its issue dated October 5th 1951. There is a new edition of the Renown in the form of a limousine—a nice combination of dignity, smartness, and reasonable size. It remains like the saloon, only more so; that is to say, it has a wheelbase 3 inches longer and a wider rear door. Its dry weight is 26 cwt 14 lb, as compared with 24 cwt 3 qr 7 lb for the saloon. Between front and rear compartments there is a division, with sliding Triplex glass windows. The general interior trim and finish are in good taste and style in keeping with those of the saloon. Mechanically the limousine is similar to the saloon, but a stiffer frame is employed to deal with the longer wheelbase, and the suspension is regulated with rather more deflection on the front, and less on the rear, to meet the difference in the distribution of weight. The rear axle ratio is the same. The cushions back and front have Dunlopillo overlays. One special feature is the air heating and ventilation installation. Fresh air is taken in from the scuttle ventilator—which is high enough to avoid the exhaust fumes of heavy vehicles on the road in front — passed through the heater and then delivered as required into the front compartment, or to the demister slots in the windscreen rail. Separate conduit pipes take a proportion of the fresh air—or all if desired—to the rear compartment. Each supply of warmed or cold, fresh air is under control, and the air in the front compartment is not recirculated in the back. The radio set is also “two- way." One speaker is located below the shelf behind the rear seat squab, and an additional speaker can be placed in the front compartment. 70 THE GLOBE VOL 39 No 4 OCTOBER 2013 As I previously intimated, production was very small, but my researches show that it did find favour with small companies that had senior management members with similar aspirations to Sir John! I can find only one item change throughout the production of the limousine. For some unknown reason the partition was changed commencing with car TDC 2043. Unfortunately, the parts book does not clarify the reason; neither does the parts book mention that the limousine had a different driver’s seat assembly. Some limousines appeared with black painted headlights due to a temporary nickel shortage. Production figures Commission Date built Quantity Remarks No X497 Possibly 1 Prototype car March/April 1951 TDC 2001- August 1951 to 188 11 units exported 2188 October 1952 TDC 2189, October 1953 3 Special order.